Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Civil Rights advocates settled its lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Correction this week over the handling of legal mail to inmates, and the changes will be implemented in coming days. The settlement comes out of a lawsuit filed in October of 2018,...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Starting on April 6, letters from lawyers sent to prisoners in Pennsylvania will no longer be scanned and stored at a facility in Florida. The state has reached a settlement with several groups including the ACLU. While some of the details are still being worked out...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio ) -- People who have been complaining for months about the Department of Corrections' mail policy showed up at Governor Wolf's Philadelphia office, to hand-deliver hundreds of holiday cards. As they rally on behalf of loved ones in prison, these folks got creative with...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia nonprofit that works with ex-offenders has teamed up with photographers to provide free holiday portraits for families with loved ones who are incarcerated. "When you are incarcerated, you miss so many family memories," said J. Jondhi Harel, founder of...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections settled a federal class action this week by agreeing to provide inmates access to an expensive treatment for Hepatitis C. "Hepatitis C is the most serious and deadly viral disease in the United States," said David Rudovsky,...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The ALCU of Pennsylvania and other legal nonprofits have filed two lawsuits against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections over its new policies dealing with lawyer mail. The group is seeking an immediate injunction. The lawsuits challenge policies implemented by...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania officials announced the launch of a technical assistance center Monday to help counties reduce the number people with mental illness who are incarcerated. About 20 percent of inmates nationally have a serious mental illness. Pennsylvania Department of...

SKIPPACK, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Bill Cosby has spent his first night at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, where he is expected to remain for his entire three- to 10-year sentence. The new, state-of-the-art facility opened only a couple months ago, but former longtime inmates of Pennsylvania's...

By Maryclaire Dale and Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press Bill Cosby spent his first night in prison alone, in a single cell near the infirmary, as he began his three-to-10-year sentence for sexual assault. Corrections officials announced Wednesday that Cosby — now known as Inmate No. NN7687 — will...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is considering legal action against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections after the agency banned shipment of all books to state prisons. Under the new policy mail will be sent to a central facility to be...